Goa's 3-Star Hotels, To Now Get Additional Floor Area Ratio Facility

Goa's Town and Country Planning Minister Vishwajit Rane has said his department will extend the facility of additional Floor Area Ratio (FAR) to three-star hotels which will help generate more revenue for the coastal state. The FAR facility is currently available only to four and five-star hotels, he said while making the announcement in a series of tweets on Tuesday night.

FAR is the ratio of a building's total floor area as compared to the size of the land upon which it is built. Rane said tourism is the main driving force of the state's economy and tourism projects must be encouraged and incentivised. "Hence, we have decided that the facility of additional FAR, which is only available to 4 and 5-star hotels, will be extended to 3-star hotels/resorts throughout Goa, facilitating additional accommodation in other parts of the state and generating additional revenue for the state," he tweeted. "Years ago, a few NGOs took to the streets to protest against the entry of 5-star hotels into the state.

Today, with our main financial backbone mining being shut, these very hotels are keeping the state's finances afloat through tourism," he said. Rane further said his department has decided to take several reformative steps which will help the people and also contribute for the conservation of the ecology. Attempts are also being made to ensure there is no corruption in the department, he said.

"As decided by the Town and Country Planning Board, we shall be strictly implementing the policy that no officer of the department and from the Planning and Development Authority will remain in the same position for more than three years," he said. Rane said the necessary changes required for limiting the tenure would come into effect next week.

"Our decisions and amendments were put forth publicly and are open to objections and suggestions," he said. The Goa government is here to be open and accessible to Goans and is willing to listen to new ideas and requests from all, he said. "At the same time it is also important that the government favours reform and plays a big role in the improvement and progress of the society," he added.

Rane said to ensure transparency, he has appointed members of various professional institutions as special invitees on the Town and Country Board and during meetings their views are taken into consideration while deciding on various aspects. For the ease of doing business and to minimise the time of approvals, powers are now delegated for giving technical clearance/development permission for the construction up to 500 sqm in the approved layout to empanelled notary architects/notary engineers," he said. "Additionally, Goa being synonymous with greenery, through our introduction of green certification we are committing to upholding the virtues of natural and sustainable living," he said.

(PTI)